Millennial Mom Thoughts

On this episode, we speak with 23-year veteran high school Social Studies teacher, Dr. Samantha Serrano. Samatha is a 23-year veteran high school social studies teacher in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. She has her bachelors in social science education from Illinois State University, her masters in geography and environmental studies from Northeastern Illinois University, and her PhD in Geograp...

We start off talking about several interesting webinars happening the week we record this episode (more than one featuring author Natasha Singer) and thankfully Jordan’s massive Google Doc will house the links to the recordings. Jordan can’t handle the fact that her youngest is turning three, which prompts Helen to ask what age a baby monitor should stay in kids’ rooms. Helen attempts to get us a...

As moms to daughters we are thrilled to share our conversation with Mary Flenner, the founder and creative director of T ween Magazine . Tween is an empowering print magazine for girls! Mary is a mom to three girls and wanted to create a magazine she felt good about them reading. The magazine is filled with stories about real-world girls, games, advice, fun facts and more. Find Helen on Substack a...

On this special episode, we interview the creative and passionate minds behind the new documentary Your Attention Please : Sara Robin (Director/Producer) and Jack LeMay (Editor/Writer). Your Attention Please (available now on Apple TV, Amazon, and Doc+) explores how social media platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive, and what happens when families, educators, and young people fight b...

It’s episode fifty-freakin’-five, everyone…just don’t tell Helen’s mom! We are fresh off the Morton Pumpkin Festival weekend, and it was filled with rides, wristbands, runs, and parades. Jordan shares the exciting news that she will be facilitating an after-school club at her son’s elementary school for 4th-6th graders reading The Amazing Generation . Speaking of good books, Helen is about 85% thr...

If you are looking for a reason to hit reset on your technology use in your home or classroom, The UnPluggEd Project happening in October is just what you need! We are joined this week by Kathleen Barlow , a former teacher, mom of six, ScreenStrong Ambassador, and a strong advocate for kids and families. Though Helen was present for this fantastic conversation, you won’t hear much from her because...

The countdown to the Morton Pumpkin Festival is on, and the smell of rotting pumpkins is filling the air! Helen gives an update about her classes, including how she and her students are navigating her mostly-device-free technology policy. She talks through the examples of when classwork does allow for the use of devices and how she is using the tech intentionally with her students. Jordan shares a...

When you need to get some energy out, crank up the tunes (maybe even some Sesame Street hits) and dance! Or at least that is what these two Millennial Moms recommend. Jordan shares the final update to her community grant project: all of the screen-free activity bins are now out! Then we dive into all of the details of the recent Meta settlement . In case you didn’t see the news, Meta will be payin...

Sometimes when one of the Millennial Moms has her basement flood for multiple days, you plan nothing for your episode and instead go for a “grab bag” of topics. Turns out that works out great because we got to talk about a variety of important and interesting things! Jordan shares about several upcoming webinars for parents, educators, or literally anyone--all shared on the ever-growing Google doc...

We kick, we stretch, and we kick because this is our FIFTIETH episode! Helen shares how she made it out safely from a scary storm, and Jordan has been busy baking treats. Helen then promises that when our podcast gets seven (or more!) reviews, she will share an incredible first-day-of-seventh-grade story. Jordan gives details about The UnPluggEd Project meant for schools and families to embrace an...

Just in time for back-to-school, Jordan shares all about the Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project (DFSPP) that she has become involved with over the past year. DFSPP is a joint initiative between the Becca Schmill Foundation and Smartphone Free Childhood US that advocates for a better, safer educational experience for every child through legislation with 3 model bills: Phone-Free Schools, Socia...

We kick off our episode with a brand new segment we’re calling “Gratitude,” complete with Helen’s on-the-fly segment theme song! Helen is fresh off the first day of her new job as the Clinical Coordinator for English Education, and Jordan has shared another newsletter for her reConnect Morton community group. For this episode, we’re talking all about a recent piece published in The Atlantic , “ Wh...

Put your party hat on because we are celebrating the 1st birthday of our podcast! It’s hard to believe we’ve shared a year of so many different Millennial Mom Thoughts with our listeners. After Jordan shares about her recent trip to visit family in Indiana, Helen delights us with her impressive sound effects. We then talk about how Meta recently reversed a decision to give users a feature allowing...

We are thrilled to share our conversation with Kevin Stinehart, a fellow millennial who is a leading voice on what modern childhood is missing. Helen first shares with us her incredible running accomplishment: taking third place at the Cry Me A River Trail Half Marathon! And Jordan drops a small hint about a future project she’s working on. We then get to talk to Kevin about his amazing work and w...

Spoiler alert: There will be a few Toy Story 5 spoilers in this episode! We are discussing the summer blockbuster and the messages it sent (and didn’t send) to viewers. But first, Jordan shares a huge childhood independence experience for her six-year-old, and Helen discusses her daughter’s first week back at daycare. We also share about a recent IRL summer library storytime we attended together....

Did you miss us?! Get excited because we are back! We kick off Season 3 sharing what we have been up to so far this summer: visits to the zoo, beach, Magic House, and aquarium, eating vacation ice cream, sleeping in hotels, watching fireworks, and having plenty of outdoor play! Helen shares a very exciting big life update a.k.a. a new job! She will be the Clinical Coordinator for the English Educa...

It’s hard to believe, but the 2025-26 school year has come to a close for Helen and Jordan! We start off sharing two examples of how Facebook “works” as more evidence that once you post something, it isn’t totally within your control what happens next. We read a short, beautiful Substack essay written by Shawn Smucker titled, “Please Use AI.” Speaking of Substack, Jordan apparently doesn’t know ho...

We open with a very special guest, a.k.a. Jordan’s son Camden, dropping some animal facts for our listeners. We also introduce a new potential segment we will call “stuff Brian yells in the car while listening to our podcast” that leads to Jordan retelling her marriage proposal story. We give an update to the recent Canvas data breach, and it seems, for now, the stolen data is not being released....

We recorded this episode on Mother’s Day and of course had to talk about what we did to celebrate our special day. After enjoying a delicious Dilly Bar, Helen shares how she enjoyed pancakes after sleeping in, and Jordan had a fun afternoon at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. We then celebrate Helen’s recently published article, “Becoming a Mother Runner,” in Mother’s Day Magazine . Jordan shares abo...

What do ancient Egypt birthday parties, gas leaks, E.R. trips, movie theater date nights, and 30 dozen donuts have in common? Absolutely nothing--but they are all things covered in Episode 40! We got to see each other IRL at Jordan’s son’s ancient Egypt themed 6th birthday party that coincidentally was on the same day as Helen’s husband’s birthday! Helen is heading into finals week and reflects on...

We start off by sharing some recent artistic adventures with our kids. Jordan reminds listeners about the upcoming playing & reading outdoor event on May 9th in Morton. Helen prepares for her final week of class and summer giggles. We then dig in to our main topic: Fairplay’s Be Tech Wise! resource, which shares expert advice on technology for families with children ages 0-5. Fairplay is an or...

Jordan starts off by sharing an exciting community update: she was awarded a grant to place screen-free activity stations in town from the Morton Community Foundation. Jordan is preparing to celebrate National Children’s Book Week and Screen-Free Week on May 9th by organizing a local outdoor event in Morton. Helen is excited for summer after accepting a teaching position at the local community col...

This week we are excited to a share a conversation with an expert in elementary school teaching: Mrs. Deb Gangstad aka Jordan’s first grade teacher at College Wood Elementary. With all of the changes that have happened (and are happening) to education, it is important to share the stories of educators who have been in the field for many years and can share their wisdom, expertise, and insights. Fo...

We spend our episode focused on a recently published article by Natasha Singer in the New York Times , “Chromebook Remorse: Tech Backlash at Schools Extends Beyond Phones.” Before diving in, we recap our recent spring break and Easter travel adventures. And it turns out Helen’s daughter is no fan of the Easter Bunny. The article features a public middle school principal in Kansas, Mrs. Inge Esping...

We first catch up on our latest life happenings, including (but not limited to): an E.R. visit, book clubs, and trying to remember to promote our own various spaces on the internet: Substack, YouTube, and Four Norms. Then we dive into the results of the bellwether social media trial in Los Angeles that just concluded on March 24 and the implications for the future. The jury found that Meta and You...